Blasts
The rawest, purest form of radiant power a magical girl can evoke, blasts do precisely what their forthright moniker promises. Blasts pummel, scorch, or otherwise inflict raw damage on an evoker's enemies, scouring them away in a maelstrom of light. An evoker may possess understanding of Blast illuminations or Companion illuminations - not both. She selects her specialization upon gaining her first evoker level, and once made, this decision can never be reversed. Evoking a Blast illumination is a standard action. Foundation Components Clinging (Stargazer) While most blasts are near-instantaneous effects, some skillful evokers are capable of enticing them to linger on. This weakens the initial burst of power... but continues to eat away at the blast's target to devastating effect. A blast with this foundation deals 1d4 damage for each mote of the illumination's cost. Further, when you successfully deal damage to a target with an illumination possessing this component, they must make a fortitude save. If they succeed, this component has no further effect. If they fail, they take damage equal to half the original damage dealt by the blast at the beginning of each of their turns for a number of rounds equal to one third the illumination's mote cost. Demolitions (Champion, Empath, Stargazer) Much of the time, a magical girl must hold back. Show restraint. As fun as it may be to unleash a furious cascade of destructive potential, it is generally deemed morally unsound to reduce random bystanders to smears of assorted vital fluid on the ground. The demolitions component, however, optimizes a blast for peerless devastation. While it is less than ideal for dealing with animate foes, the heavy-handed destructive force is capable of obliterating even the most resilient obstacles. A blast with this foundation deals 1d4 damage for each mote of the illumination's cost, and ignores any hardness its targets may possess. Additionally, the blast deals double damage against objects. For every 4m in the illumination's final cost, the damage multiplier against objects increases by one. Flare (Empath, Stargazer) There is a limit to the radiant power a mortal body can hold. Evokers are capable of regulating their personal flow of luminescence almost instinctively, but other creatures are far less fortunate. A blast with this foundation rolls damage as usual, dealing 1d8 damage for each mote of the illumination's cost. However, targets do not take this damage immediately. Instead, the blast lies dormant within them, discharging as soon as the target takes damage from another source. If the target does not take any damage within a number of minutes equal to the number of motes in this illumination's final cost, the latent energy dissipates harmlessly. Latent damage from multiple applications of Flare blasts by a single evoker stack, and are discharged as a single unit. Flare blasts from different evokers stack, but are tallied separately. Any damage dealt with the same action as the blast, such as the weapon damage of an Assault illumination, does not trigger this effect. If the latent damage on a target is about to discharge, the evoker may choose to prevent the discharge of her own Flare blasts as an immediate action. Lures (Champion, Empath, Stargazer) Snaring their foes with powerful blowback or chains of radiant power, evokers have little tolerance for those clumsy or foolish enough to attempt to flee their justice. A creature struck by a blast augmented with this effect (or who fails their reflex save for half damage in the case of area of effect blasts) is dragged towards the blast’s origin point a distance of 5 feet for each mote of the illumination's cost. At the end of this movement, the target is rendered prone, and takes 1d6 points of damage for each 10 feet of distance traveled. If the target's motion is stopped before completion by anything other than reaching the blast's point of origin (such as by a wall), they take an additional 1d6 points of damage for every 5 feet they would have traveled beyond their stopping point. Power (Champion, Empath, Stargazer) Blasts are, at their heart, nothing more than untamed surges of energy, amplified to incredible levels. While it is possible to refine this further, most magical girls simply do not bother - what such an rough-hewn blast might lack in finesse, it makes up for in raw power. A blast with this foundation deals 1d6 damage for each mote of the illumination's cost. Tremors (Champion, Empath, Stargazer) Imbuing their blast with pure kinetic force, a magical girl can use this illumination to literally blow her enemies away. A creature struck by a blast augmented with this effect (or who fails their reflex save for half damage in the case of area of effect blasts) is knocked away from the blast’s origin point a distance of 5 feet for each mote of the illumination's cost. At the end of this movement, the target is rendered prone, and takes 1d6 points of damage for each 10 feet of distance traveled. If the target's motion is stopped before completion (such as by a wall), they take an additional 1d6 points of damage for every 5 feet they would have traveled beyond their stopping point. Shape Components Cascade (Champion, Empath, Stargazer) (Mote Cost: 0m + 3m/rank beyond the first) A single blast of power is the calling card of many magical girls. Brutal, overpowering... and incredibly inelegant. For situations calling for a measured hand and precise aim, it is common for magical girls to configure a barrage of lesser blasts, annihilating enemy forces with the precision of a laser blade. The illumination targets up to one creature per rank in the Cascade component within a 60' base range with a ranged touch attack. The evoker makes only a single attack roll, comparing it to the touch AC of each of her targets. Assault (Champion, Empath) (Mote Cost: 1m) Among more martially inclined magical girls, a direct assault is often a far more intuitive strategy than fiddling about with channeling illuminations independently. Born of this mentality, the Assault component allows a blast to be delivered in the form of an attack (not a touch attack) with your device, delivering the effects of a blast along with those of an ordinary attack on a successful hit. Although an assault blast is normally a standard action, it may be also used in place of a single attack in a full attack routine, or in place of the attack made at the end of a charge. Imbue (Champion, Empath( (Mote Cost: 1m) When a warrior of the light wishes to exercise a measure of finesse beyond that of a simple, brute-force assault, it is not uncommon for her to by stymied by the volatile nature of her own power. Designed as a means to work around this instability, the Imbue component infuses an evoker's weapon with radiant energy, ready to be discharged at a moment's notice. A blast with this component is activated as a swift action, rather than a standard action, empowering any single weapon she is currently wielding. The next time the magical girl makes a successful attack with that weapon, the target of her attack suffers the effects of the imbued blast along with those of the attack itself. If it is not discharged, the imbuement fades at the beginning of the evoker's next turn. Beam (Champion, Empath, Stargazer) (Mote Cost: 1m + 2m/rank beyond the first) On occasion, one comes across a situation that would be best resolved by an enormous laser of radiant destruction. For some magical girls, this occasion is 'always', and the beam component is the tool with which they carry out their tasks. The illumination becomes a line with a length of 15’ for every rank of this component applied to the blast. Targets within the area of effect can attempt a Reflex save for half damage. For every four ranks of this component, the evoker may increase the width of their line attack by 5'. The width of a beam illumination is chosen upon its crafting. Challenge (Champion, Empath) (Mote Cost: 1m + 2m/rank beyond the first) Cowards falter when faced with the splendor of the light - the art of the challenge was perfected by a former knight who seethed at the thought of foes besmirching her honor with their wanton refusal to do battle on even terms. A blast with the Challenge component targets one creature per rank within a base range of 40'. The targeted creatures experience no immediate effects, but are immediately placed under the effect of the evoker's challenge until the end of the evoker's next turn. For every rank in this component beyond the first, the challenge lasts an additional round. Should a creature under the evoker's challenge willingly deal damage to or force a saving throw by any creature other than the evoker herself, she may smite the offending creature as a free action. This smite deals the full effect of the blast, and strikes unerringly regardless of distance or obstacles between the evoker and the target. Once a smite has been discharged upon a creature in this manner, that creature ceases to be affected by the evoker's challenge. An individual creature may be afflicted with multiple challenges at once, but the evoker may only make one retributive smite against any single triggering action. If you are rendered unconscious by any means, any challenges you have issues immediately end, regardless of remaining duration. Eruption (Champion, Empath, Stargazer) (Mote Cost: 1m/rank) Calling upon the maelstrom of radiant energy in a magical girl’s soul, this component converts a blast into a raw, unbridled eruption of power. The illumination gains a blast radius of 5’ per rank of this component, centered on you. The illumination no longer can be used at range, no longer requires an attack roll, and allows its targets the opportunity to make a Reflex save. On a successful save, the blast deals half damage. Embraces (Champion, Empath) (Mote Cost: 1m) Sometimes, aiming is hard, and worrying about fiddly stabby things or sparkly lasers is just way too much trouble to be worth it. For the targeting-impaired or just plain reckless, however, there is always a more direct approach. The illumination targets a single creature you are currently grappling. No attack roll is required, and no saving throw is offered against the effects of this blast. Explosion (Empath, Stargazer) (Mote Cost: 1m + 2m/rank beyond the first) Following the ancient wisdom that a sufficiently large blast radius can solve any problem, the explosion component converts a blast from a single-target attack into a radial burst. The illumination may be targeted anywhere within a base range of 60', and possesses a blast radius of 5’ for each rank of this component Targets within the area of effect can attempt a Reflex save for half damage. Storms (Empath, Stargazer) (Mote Cost: 1m + 2m/rank beyond the first) By carefully shaping a burst of radiant energy, an evoker can carpet entire swathes of terrain with a furious storm of power. The illumination becomes a cone with a length of 10’ for every rank of this component. Targets within the area of effect can attempt a Reflex save for half damage. Bombs (Stargazer) (Mote Cost: 2m/rank) Radiant power is inherently unstable - it can be channeled, refined, and redirected, but its eventual eruption is all but inevitable. The illumination no longer requires an attack roll, instead allowing the magical girl to scatter a number of energy bundles equal to * ranks anywhere within a base range of 20'. Energy bundles may only be placed in unoccupied squares, and no more than one bundle may be placed in any given square. Whenever a creature enters an energy bundle's square, that bundle detonates with a blast radius of 5'. Targets within the area of effect can attempt a reflex save for half damage. At the beginning of the evoker's next turn, all remaining energy bundles detonate. Creatures or objects caught in multiple simultaneous detonations only make a single saving throw, and only take the illumination's damage once, but the reflex save DC increases by +2 for every overlapping explosion beyond the first. Swarms (Empath, Stargazer) (Mote Cost: 4m/rank) It is a relative rarity for a magical girl to face a lone foe. All too often, she is outnumbered many times over, beset by foes on all sides. Designed to allow an evoker to wield her blast as a warrior wields their weapon, the Swarms component gives her a measure of control over her blast after it is fired, allowing the evoker to guide it through the ranks of her enemies like a vengeful tempest. The evoker makes a ranged touch attack against a single target within a base range of 30'. Upon a successful hit, the blast may immediately jump to two additional targets within a range equal to half the base range of the blast, making an attack roll against each in a manner identical to the first. The illumination is capable of splitting in this manner once for each rank of this component that has been purchased. Against each set of targets after the first, the luminous swarm suffers a cumulative -2m to its effective mote cost for the purposes of determining the effects of its foundation component, as its energy is dispersed over an increasingly large area. Any given creature may only be affected by a single swarms illumination once. Secondary Components Buffered (Champion, Empath, Stargazer) (Mote Cost: 3m) Sometimes, evokers can let their enthusiasm outrun their common sense, somehow winding up in the path of their own attacks. It's a bit embarrassing, but when that happens, it's better to have prepared for the eventuality with a few simple safeguards. You cannot take damage from one of your own illuminations augmented with the buffered component. Any other effects of the blast still apply. Charge (Champion, Empath, Stargazer) (Mote Cost: 0m) By taking time to stabilize her radiant power to its fullest extent, an evoker can amplify her blasts to the point where evading them is nigh on impossible... assuming the targets don't leave the line of fire before they even go off. You target this illumination normally, but it does not have any immediate effect other than filling the target area with some tell-tale sign of the incoming attack. At the beginning of your next turn, resolve the blast against the target area, but creatures caught in it may not make any save to reduce its effects. This component may only be applied to blasts with a shape that provides an area of effect. Delayed (Empath, Stargazer) (Mote Cost: 3m/rank) In the quest for ever larger explosions, a clever (and possibly somewhat mad) stargazer once devised a method by which to store radiant energy in her targets until such time that it reached a dangerous critical mass. When you damage a creature with a blast modified by this component, you may choose to delay that damage by a number of rounds up to the number of ranks in this component. Any effects other than immediate damage occur normally, and are not delayed. If applied to a blast that offers a saving throw for half damage, any creature which succeeded on the initial saving throw must make a fortitude save against the same DC whenever they begin a turn under the effects of a delayed blast. If any of these fortitude saves are failed, the damage dealt by the blast is restored to its full amount when it is finally triggered. Dust (Champion, Empath, Stargazer) (Mote Cost: 3m) Death is messy business - but it doesn't have to be. Any object or creature killed or destroyed by a blast with this component is disintegrated utterly, removing any and all physical trace of their existence. When obliterating a creature with this effect, their equipment is unharmed, if perhaps a little unnaturally clean. Horizon (Champion, Empath, Stargazer) (Mote Cost: 1m/rank) Boosting the cohesion and longevity of a blast, this component allows the range of an illumination to be dramatically increased. For each rank of the Horizon component applied to an illumination, its range is increased by an amount equal to its base range. This does not affect the radius, length, or other measurements of any potential Shape effects, and does not benefit illuminations whose Shape does not specify a base range. Prism (Champion, Empath, Stargazer) (Mote Cost: 2m/rank) Refracting the polychromatic purity of light into its manifold components, the Prism component converts a blast into one of the more common forms of energy. Upon readying this illumination, you may select an energy type (Acid, Cold, Electricity, Fire, or Sonic). The damage dealt by the blast becomes energy damage of that type, rather than untyped damage. Each rank of this component allows you to select an additional energy type to apply to the blast. When damaging an enemy with energy resistance, immunity, the ability to heal from damage taken, or similar damage reducing abilities that would apply to one or more component damage types, only the least effective such ability applies against the amalgam damage, or none if none of them would apply to one or more of the component damage types. All other effects apply as though the amalgam damage was the most damaging of its component damage types with respect to that ability. Sharpshooting (Empath, Stargazer) (Mote Cost: 2m) Using pre-designed targeting aids and automatic aim compensation, an illumination with this component allows you to target your foes with all the accuracy and precision of a master marksman. When attacking with a blast augmented with the Sharpshooting effect, you may treat your BAB as equal to your HD for the purpose of determining your attack bonus. You do not gain the benefits of an improved BAB for any other purpose. Dissonance (Champion, Empath, Stargazer) (Mote Cost: 3m) Born of the unsettling discoveries of magical girls who have strayed far from the path of the righteous, the Dissonance component converts the radiance of a blast into a sickly cacophony that rends the very life-force of its targets. Damage dealt by blast augmented with this effect is considered negative energy damage in addition to any other damage types it may possess, healing undead and otherwise acting as any other negative energy effect. Vile (Champion, Empath, Stargazer) (Mote Cost: 5m) Not all light is clean - the fires of Hell and the Abyss bear their own sickly radiance, and less scrupulous evokers can tap into that light to bright forth blasts of a terrible potency. Damage dealt by blast augmented with this effect is considered to be both evil-aligned and vile damage in addition to any other damage types it may possess - such damage may not be healed by natural or magical means except while within the area of a Consecrate or Hallow effect. Vile damage is detailed more fully in the Book of Vile Darkness. Non-evil evokers may make use of this component, but such a horrendous tool must be used with great care if they wish to carry on long with their alignment intact. Sundering (Champion, Empath, Stargazer) (Mote Cost: 3m/rank) No shield is perfect - the strongest armor has chinks, and the hide of even the mightiest dragon has loose scales a hawk-eyed attacker might exploit. Most warriors know their weaknesses, and work to guard them and disguise them from their foes - but like so many deceptions, these tactics are burned away in the face of the light, leaving weakness blazing from within and exposed to all. For each rank of this component, the target of the blast suffers a -1 penalty to their AC. This penalty lasts one round. Tactics (Empath, Stargazer) (Mote Cost: 6m) Most commonly applied to blasts with wide areas of effect, this component grants far more precise control over the targeting of an illumination. When you evoke an illumination with the Tactics component, you may choose to omit any number of targets from its effects. Volatility (Stargazer) (Mote Cost: 7m/rank) Life is a powerful force, and as it fades or dims it is possible to use such vital energy to fuel a potent chain reaction of luminous effects. When an enemy is killed or knocked unconscious by a blast with the Volatility component, you may immediately re-evoke that blast at no mote cost, using the fallen target as the origin point for this secondary blast. When a blast is re-evoked in this manner, it loses one rank of this component, but is otherwise identical. Volatility may only be triggered by the initial damage of a blast - secondary damage, such as that from the Clinging component, will not activate this effect. Device (Radiant Armourer) (Mote Cost: 3m/rank) Where most blasts consist of raw power, Radiant Armourers have taken to including devices in them. For each rank in this component, select one device you may summon. When this blast is used, add the damage and effects of that device to the damage and effects of the blast (Note it does not get Strength to damage, it does however gain the benefits of mote imbued in it if any would be). You may select the same device multiple times. If an attack roll is made, the devices in the blast may get critical hits. Roll once to confirm all criticals. Only the damage of devices that succeeded on the critical is increased, and only effects of criticals innate to the devices occur (such as those from enchantments but not those from feats). If the Radiant Armourer has the blazing aegis feat she may also choose shields for this ability, in which case it is treated as being used for a shield bash attack. Category:Illuminations